in may . she was sunk en route by the american submarine uss salmon , although most of her crew survived . = = background = = combat experience in the first sino @ - @ japanese war of 1894 – 95 convinced the imperial japanese navy of weaknesses in the je ##une ecole naval philosophy , which emphasized torpedo boats and commerce raiding to offset expensive heavily armoured ships . therefore , japan prom ##ul ##gated a ten @ - @ year naval build @ - @ up in early 1896 , to modern ##ize and expand its fleet in preparation for further confrontation ##s , with the construction of six battleships and six armoured cruisers at its core . these ships were paid for from the
in may. she was sunk en route by the american submarine uss salmon, although most of her crew survived. = = background = = combat experience in the first sino @ - @ japanese war of 1894 – 95 convinced the imperial japanese navy of weaknesses in the jeune ecole naval philosophy, which emphasized torpedo boats and commerce raiding to offset expensive heavily armoured ships. therefore, japan promulgated a ten @ - @ year naval build @ - @ up in early 1896, to modernize and expand its fleet in preparation for further confrontations, with the construction of six battleships and six armoured cruisers at its core. these ships were paid for from the